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Psalm 78

. . . we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. .so the next generation would know them . . . and they in turn would tell their children.

Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Off-Label Imaginations

Yesterday our Monopoly game was strewn all across the living room floor. Lane was lining up all the Community Chest cards next to a long row of the Chance! cards. He was reading each card, as best as he could, and asking me about the little guy on the card. "Mom, why is he carrying the ship? Look! This is the ship!" and he thrust the card in my face to be sure that I didn't miss his point.

We played Monopoly together the other day and Lane did a great job of following the rules with me for about 30 minutes. Then, he grew tired of the game and his sisters took over our places. But Lane came back with the chess men. In an instant he was lining up chess men across the Monopoly board for some sort of war.

Today the chess men have joined his army men in a grand battle of good against evil.

Our kids have the most fun playing with games, toys, and household objects in ways they were never intended.

The vacuum extension tube? Spyglass one day, trumpet the next. Wire stackable bins for the closet? Outfitted with a small pillow and blankets and in use as a doll sofa.Tongue depressors from the craft drawer? Taped into small cross and used as swords or knives.Brand-new swimming goggles? Goggles for keeping the dust out as my son speeds across the African plain catching rhinos (riding in a truck that turned upside-right is actually our school desk chair).Frisbees? Filled with grass clippings and serving as dinner plates for my daughters as they camp on their way West.Family room couch? The Millennium Falcon one day, ocean-going vessel the next.

1 comment:

I was totally inspired by this post of yours, it really made me think about the inventiveness of my own children. So I've done my own post on the topic: http://equipacademy.blogspot.com/2008/06/isnt-imagination-great.html. (I linked to you in recognition, I hope you don't mind.) Thanks for making me glad again that I am a mum.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (I actually just skimmed this, after becoming frustrated with the lack of quotation marks and losing interest in the narrative.)

Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Enemies of the People A memoir by Kati Marton

Murder Must Advertise A Peter Wimsey Novel by Dorothy Sayers

Good-Bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton

Evangelical Feminism; A New Path to Liberalism? by Wayne Grudem (5/09)

Finally Alive! by John Piper

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey

Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell

Little Britches by Ralph Moody

What's So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D'Souza

In Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges; Finished 2/18

The Coldest Winter by Halberstam; This book brings to mind that "the more you know, the more you know you don't know"! I made it to page 326, but our history studies are zooming forward towards Vietnam. I'm re-shelving this (2/10) until another time.

About Homeroom Resources

We are studying Year 3 of Tapestry of Grace.For the uninitiated, this is a comprehensive curriculum which provides reading assignments, teaching notes, activities, and writing assignments for the subjects of history, literature, geography, and Bible (also some fine arts and church history). This is a solid humanities program for homeschoolers aiming for a classical education. Tapestry takes the student through a chronological study of world history in four years three times throughout grades 1-12.

In the 2011-2012 school year we are adding some English resources to beef up some weaknesses. We'll be using Rod and Staff's spelling texts for our third and sixth graders and Rod and Staff's English and Reading for our third grader.

Our kindergartener will start with Math U See's Primer, our third grader will be working through Rod and Staff Grade 3 Mathematics, and our sixth graders will be using Saxon 76.

Phonics Museum is a fun way to introduce reading. The sings and jingles are catchy, the primers are beautiful, and the workbook is useful. Toby will continue using this program.

Phonics Pathways was my key resource for teaching my twin daughters to read. We still keep this book handy for practice with spelling rules.

Exploring Creation through Astronomy. From Apologia, this science text works well across all grammar school ages. We also use the notebooking pages that go along with the text.